Global News Podcast - New Orleans attack: death toll rises to 15

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

US authorities say they do not believe the man who rammed his truck into New Year revellers acted alone. Also: a Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas, and the shipping forecast celebrates 100 years.

You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. This edition is published in the early hours of Thursday, the 2nd of January. We have the latest on the suspected terror attack in New Orleans. As the US authorities say, they do not believe the man who rammed his truck into New Year revelers acted alone. One person dies after a Tesla cyber truck explodes outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas. And a new way of studying DNA in human remains that could change our understanding of our

history. Also in the podcast, Viking North Utsira, South Utsira, 40s, Cromarty. Cyclonic becoming northerly 6 to Gal 8. Rain, then snow showers. Good, occasionally poor. The shipping forecast celebrates 100 years on air. But we start in New Orleans, which was hit by a suspected terror attack just after 3am into the new year. There have been a number of developments since the coverage in our

earlier podcast. The coroner of the city now says at least 15 people were killed when a pickup truck ploughed into revelers in Bourbon Street in the French quarter of the city. After crashing the vehicle, the driver opened fire before being shot dead by police. At a news conference, FBI Special Agent Alethea Duncan said investigators didn't believe he was acting alone. The subject has been identified as 42-year-old Samsud Dim Jabbar, a US-born citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck which appears to be unrented and we are working to confirm how the subject became in possession of this vehicle.

An ISIS flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. We are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We're aggressively running down all the leads to identify the possible subject associates. We're working to ensure that there is no further threat. We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. This man had been in a nearby hotel when the attack took place. He was among those who tried to help the injured.

Being a Marine Corps vet, it felt like, you know, back in Iraq again. You know, just jumping right in, just sending people and everything laying down, not knowing exactly what to do. So at that moment I just had to do what I needed to do, just go right back into my training and try to see who people that I can actually help and pretty much trying to triage. There was another gentleman that was there with me. He was a training medic as well. So between the two of us we tried to help anybody that we could. In a post on his social media site, the US President-elect Donald Trump linked the attack to immigration

although that was before the suspect was named as a US Army veteran and US citizen born and raised in Texas. Police said that more than 300 officers had been on duty in New Orleans at the time of the incident. The city was due to host the Sugar Bowl, a classic American college football game although it has now been postponed. Our North America correspondent Rowan Bridge has this assessment. I think there were some key things that came out of that news conference that bear repeating. It's clear that the authorities now do not think that this was a single person behind this attack and they are trying to track down all the known associates of Shamsa Din Jabbar

and anybody who's had contact with him over the last 72 hours. Also worth noting that they said that there are still victims of this attack on the street in Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, which means that I think it's certainly possible that that death toll of 10 that have been confirmed so far may go up. We also know that some of those still in hospital are still in a critical condition. Also as well, you know, there's been talk about whether there were security measures in place in New Orleans in case of such a sort of terrorist attack. The police were keen to point out that they did have measures in place to protect the area. They had officers in the area, there were patrol

cars there, but this was a determined attack that the person actually drove up onto the pavement to get around those barriers in order to drive into people and then finally as you say I think people need to understand that the Sugar Bowl this American football game between two university sites is a massive event for New Orleans and indeed for the United States you know American football university football is a massive sport in this country and so for that event to be university football is a massive sport in this country and so for that event to be postponed, that is a significant event to be postponed in that way but the NFL have said that it will take place, it's going to be 24 hours later.

Our North America correspondent Rowan Bridge. Well earlier I got an update from BBC journalist Anna Adams who was at the scene. We are slap bang in the middle of New Orleans, it's Bourbon Street which many people will have heard of is the most famous street, partying for bars, for restaurants, for music and I was out here last night and it was absolutely thronged with people and to get a sense of what it's like here in New Orleans is that's not unusual, I mean obviously it was incredibly busy because it was not only the Sugar Bowl college football game but it's also New Year's Eve but on any night, this area is really thronged with people.

It's a city where life has lived outside. It was warm last night, everybody was on the streets, the bars were all open. And there was a parade earlier in the day, there were marching bands, there were thousands of people on the street all day long. And that continued into the night. The city is actually at almost 90% capacity so that just gives you a sense of how busy it is. To me, sir, I live here, it was one of the busiest weekends I've seen since Mardi Gras. I mean it was incredibly busy and for it to be such a brazen attack it's really left the whole city in a complete sense of shock. Yeah and coming less than two weeks after a similar incident

in Germany there must be questions about how a vehicle was able to get into such a busy area. I understand they were placing bollards in the area. Yes so this is a very contentious issue. I've spoken to some business owners in the French Quarter and that is where the real focus of people's concerns are going to be because it's very difficult to operate in the French Quarter. It's very old. It's a historic neighborhood. You know, it's difficult to park. It's difficult to get through there.

So how this was allowed to happen is now where people's thoughts are going because there are bollards, but they're very rarely up. I walked on this street quite often. And there were some bollards further up the street that were kind of up, but that wasn't really near near the busy street so it wasn't necessarily very effective. So we're now seeing a lot of sort of political leaders are coming to the scene and they're wanting to know you know what's happened. BBC's Anna Adams who is in New Orleans. A Tesla cyber truck has exploded

outside Trump Tower in the US gambling resort of Las Vegas, killing one person. Seven others were injured. The incident is being investigated by the FBI. The Tesla boss, Elon Musk, said his entire senior team were looking into what happened. The Trump organisation said the safety of its guests was its top priority. David Chance is an investigative reporter from CBS News in Las Vegas. He spoke to Sean Lay. So we know right now that this explosion happened around 8.45 in the morning,

our time. Keep in mind that Las Vegas is the party capital of the world really. There were 400,000 people estimated to be down on the strip celebrating last night. This happened obviously the day after those celebrations were over, but still in an area where a lot of people were, a lot of people do stay in that hotel. Well, it is actually not on the strip. It is a busy area. It's right next to a very large shopping mall. We know that this explosion happened. The driver in that Tesla cyber truck was killed, two other

people were hurt enough that they were brought to the hospital and right now our local police and the FBI are trying to figure out whether this was intentional or just a really coincidence, an accident. It's very bizarre because judging by the pictures that are being broadcast right now around the world, it looks like the vehicle was practically positioned outside the glass doors where people would normally walk in. It is very bizarre. That area is where guests are brought up to leave or come in to check in where valet is.

They do have some sort of security there anyway, because obviously Donald Trump was the president. He's going to be the president again. So there is security there. What makes this even more bizarre is it's a cyber truck. We know of Elon Musk's connection to the president-elect. You mentioned that Elon Musk had put out a tweet saying they were investigating this incident. The most important part of that tweet though is he says, we've never seen anything like this. So we don't know if it was just the car that happened to malfunction with a bunch of fireworks in it or what. Brief last question, any suggestion of any connection with what happened in New Orleans? I think the FBI is certainly looking into that. We aren't seeing those signs

though of any ISIS connection, like an ISIS flag or explosives at this point that we are seeing in New Orleans. But certainly that is something that people are talking about. David Charnes from CBS News. And since we heard from him, Elon Musk has tweeted again saying, we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. There is no confirmation about what Elon Musk is saying from the authorities. The second Trump term starts in less than three weeks and business leaders are trying to work out what it'll mean for them

particularly with the threat of new tariffs. In India some manufacturers are feeling optimistic, hoping to benefit if US companies decide to move operations away from China. The BBC's Archana Shukla reports from Bengaluru in southern India. Scores of workers are assembling intricate parts for smart watches, Bluetooth speakers and computer circuit boards in the Zetworks manufacturing factory that supplies to large global brands, churning out over 2.5 million pieces monthly, evidence of India's growing tech prowess. This factory in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru manufactures IT hardware.

And till about five years ago, India was completely reliant on imports for such hardware. But today, factories like these manufacture almost half of it locally. This is one sector where India feels it is aligned perfectly to benefit with Trump as US President and his hard stance on tariffs as far as China is concerned. Zetworks, like many other Indian electronics manufacturers, is anticipating a surge in global demand. Josh Folger, head of electronic manufacturing at Z-Works, is quite upbeat.

The India Plus story is going to be at least a 10x story for India. The largest demand centers in the world are the US market, the European market. India offers a wonderful mix. For global supply chain, for global manufacturers, we have the full stack of skill sets available in India in scale. Workers are testing smartphones in Zetworks Adir factory in the city of Noida. Factories like these made India a net exporter of mobile handsets, a success India wants to replicate across electronics, electric vehicles, solar panels and even warships.

India is still mostly assembling products with parts made in other countries like China. Josh Folger says government is now promoting component manufacture. The idea is to localise as much as possible. This component development will really help us. And for global supply chains, it's going to de-risk dependency on any single country. In taxes and tariffs. But it's not China that India is actually competing with.

If India charges us 100%, do we charge them nothing? Donald Trump's press conference on December 16 reiterated the heat is on India too. Arpita Mukherjee, a trade economist studying international economic relations, says India needs to review its own protectionism stance. We need to compare our tariffs with those in the ASEAN because that's where the competition lies. US also has very liberal agreements with some of them like Vietnam or Mexico. The tariff today in intermediate product has also impacted the manufacturing sector very

adversely. And the tariff reduction has not happened even through the trade agreements. That's the bigger issue. It's lunchtime here and the factory shop floor is bustling with workers chatter. Creating jobs for this growing workforce is crucial as India aims to boost its global manufacturing. Reason why? India is already warming up to ease controls and push its might to become the factory to the world. Achana Shukla in Bengaluru, Southern India. Scientists have developed a new way of studying

DNA in human remains that could help us understand more about our ancestors. The new method, outlined in the journal Nature, is being used to analyse thousands of bones and take another look at human history. Here's our science correspondent, Pallab Ghosh. DNA, the hereditary material that makes up living things, changes as it's passed down the generations. And it can be read like a barcode. So far scientists have been able to see in fossilised DNA only the very big changes that have taken place over thousands of

years. For example the physical changes that came with human evolution. But now Professor Pontus Skirglund and his team at the Francis Crick Institute in London have found a way to identify more recent changes in the barcode over a few hundred years. This allows them to tell when and how different groups of people migrated and their interactions with the local population. We wanna understand many of these different epochs in British history, from the Roman period

to when the people referred to as the Anglo-Saxons arrived through the Viking Age period and see how all of this shaped the ancestry and diversity of the nation. Professor Skirglund is working with archaeologists excavating sites across Great Britain in order to extract DNA from bones. He's also collaborating with the historian Professor Peter Heather from King's College London, who says he expects to learn much more about the country's history. It's going to be revolutionary. This method will allow us to see the type of relations

that are being formed with the native population. Are they cooperative? Is there interbreeding? Are a lot of native sub-Romano Brits able to make their way into the elite? There are thousands of human remains in Britain's museums to analyse. Each has their own tale to tell. The new discovery will enable scientists to hear their stories and rewrite the history books. Our science correspondent, Pallab Ghosh. As people in Syria celebrated the new year, they were also marking a new era.

2025 will be the first year in a quarter of a century that Bashar al-Assad will not be in charge. The new de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharah, held talks this week with Christian and Kurdish representatives as part of efforts to show his government will be open to other groups. Both minority communities have concerns about the Islamist roots of the new authorities. HDS is still designated as a terrorist organisation by many countries. Syria is made up of many ethnicities – Arabs, Druze, Kurds, Christians – and some fear it may be hard to keep the country together. Our Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher is in Damascus. He spoke to Andrew Peach.

Last night I was at a New Year's Eve party which was moving as so many things have been to watch people who haven't in some cases met each other for many years thinking they would never be able to do so if at all in Damascus in Syria. suddenly there on New Year's Eve and the embraces, the hugs, the surprise on some people's faces at who had shown up, film directors who'd gone into exile, actors, similar journalists in imprisoned, now back, this sense that on every street corner these people who are back to experience this heady moment might bump into something, to someone who they hadn't seen for so long. Let's talk specifically about the different minority groups that are in Syria. I guess they're understandable worries of what their status will be going forward.

understandable worries of what their status will be going forward? Yes, I mean obviously the Alawites, the community to which the Assads belonged and which, you know, to a lesser or greater extent benefited perhaps most from their rule over in the West. I mean we've seen unrest there, we've seen issues as you would expect, not yet on a level that I think would really cause imminent fear in people in Syria or outside but there's that. Then other communities, you were mentioning I think two of the key communities who would feel they have something to lose in the change of leadership, the Christians and the Kurds. And Ahmad al-Sharif, the de facto leader, the man who's headed HTS for one time, Jihadist group, but he is certainly in public, made much more moderate, was once again in

the last two or three days giving signals, and they say these are signals rather than actions at the moment, that his rhetoric that he wants to see a Syria that's once again united, one in which all communities feel they have a stake, that was backed up by these meetings. So he met high-level Christian clergy and gave them, you know, assurances that although he has an Islamist background, although the majority of the rebel factions as they were then that came in to Damascus and took over had that ideology, that it's not going to necessarily be overpowering. They're going to allow people to continue to live in the way that they are accustomed to and that their own culture leads them to.

And then the Kurds, which I think is the most imminent pressing problem perhaps, who control much of the northeast, who are backed by the US, who were absolutely vital in the defeat of ISIS territorially years ago. We've heard a slightly more confrontational aspect of things to do with them. The SDF, the Kurdish-led forces, which are now I think virtually all Kurds who control that area, are seen by Turkey, which has given absolutely crucial backing to HDS up in Al-Sharah's group, as a terrorist offshoot of the PKK, the Kurdish separatist movement in Turkey. And Ankara has for a long time mounted incursions, mounted attacks on them

and has made clear that it wants them to no longer be an active armed faction. So, Apenar Şahra had his first meeting again a day ago with representatives of the SDF and it was reported as being positive, but who knows where that will go. I think if there's going to be quite a big confrontation, that's one that we might see sooner rather than later. Sebastian Usher in the Syrian capital Damascus. Still to come on the Global News podcast. The more launches, the more debris gets left behind in orbit to come down in an uncontrolled way. After a metallic object from space crashes down in Kenya, we hear why it keeps happening. The authorities in Montenegro say 10 people have died in a multiple shooting in the town

of Setenya. The government has cancelled New Year celebrations and declared three days of mourning. Here's our Balkans correspondent Guy Delaney. The shooting started late in the afternoon in Setenya, a small town which used to be Montenegro's royal capital. Police say a customer at a bar was involved in an argument. He went home, returned with a weapon and started shooting. The bar owner was among those who died. The shooter then drove to the home of the bar owner where he again opened fire. Two children died and the owner's wife was injured. The authorities say shooting

took place in two other locations and members of the suspect's wife was injured. The authorities say shooting took place in two other locations and members of the suspect's family are among the dead. Montenegro's president, Jakov Milatovic, said he was shocked and shaken and that the whole country felt the pain of the victims' families. Our Balkans correspondent Guy Delaney. From busy freeways to classic car street racing, Los Angeles has long been considered the capital of American car culture but as the city gears up to host World Cup football in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028 LA's mass transit system is being expanded and new bike lanes are popping up all over the city so can LA break its

love affair with the car? Reagan Morris reports from Los Angeles. It's a beautiful sunny day as usual in Los Angeles and I'm cycling in one of these new protected bike lanes through Hollywood. There's a barrier between me and the cars and I'm moving almost the same speed as the traffic. More often than not, I'm stuck in gridlock on the other side of the barrier, often moving slower than the handful of bikes

that have started using these lanes. This is long overdue. Damien Kevett, the executive director of the pro-cycling group Streets are for Everyone, knows just how dangerous it can be to ride a bike in LA. I am myself a victim of a traffic collision in Griffith Park actually. I was hit, pinned underneath a car, dragged nearly a quarter of a mile from the streets onto and down the 5 freeway at freeway speeds.

My right leg was ripped off in about 20 pounds of flesh in two minutes. 20 broken bones. Yeah, now I'm a below-the-knee amputee. Bike lanes have transformed Olympic host cities like London and Paris, and Kevitt and others would like to see Los Angeles do the same. He was voicing his support for safer streets at an event showcasing new planned bike routes connecting Griffith Park, where he was hit, with Burbank and Hollywood. It is the perfect community for cycling. It's the perfect community for runners and cycling and outdoors and things like that. Yet, as a generality, we are hooked on our vehicles.

We are hooked on the need to have speed. We're like the home of street racing and street takeovers. It's a bit crazy. I love riding my bike so much, but in LA people drive so fast. It's so utterly terrifying. Mimi Holt says she would ride her bike everywhere if neighborhoods were better connected. I mean, I can barely afford my car. I still keep my car, but insurance is really expensive.

Gas is expensive. It's not good for the environment. So you'd love to get rid of your car? I would, I'm on the edge of getting rid of it, yes. So far, the bike paths that exist are little islands and there's not a lot of connection between them yet. I want that so very badly. LA officials also want that but they're running out of time and money. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA 28 leaders have been promising a sustainable, transit-first or car-free Olympics. But with just a few years left to go, LA has asked the Trump transition team for $3.2 billion in federal funding to make their Olympic transit dreams a reality.

Mayor Bass, I know that Los Angeles and former President Trump and soon to be incoming President Trump again have had sort of an acrimonious relationship. You've asked for $3 billion from the Trump administration. Are you optimistic about that? The beautiful thing about the Olympics and the World Cup and the other events that are happening, those are opportunities for our nation to shine and to shine in the middle of the entire world. And I have no doubt that incoming president will understand the significance.

And so I am hopeful because this is not just a request for Los Angeles. This is a request for our nation as we assume the spotlight in the world in 2028. If they build it, will Angelina's get out of their cars? The city of stars is a city of cars and many people here think the idea of a car free Olympics is absurd. You know, the joke in Los Angeles is you don't talk about a destination based on how many miles it is from you. It's how long it takes to get there.

It's an impossible question. How long does it take to get to Venice Beach? Yeah, depends. It could be 20 minutes, could be three hours. Shivana Zinga, a Burbank resident, does not want new bike lanes near her neighborhood. Do you think we can have a car-free Olympics? I think it's a little too soon for that because as everyone knows, Los Angeles is very car heavy.

Everybody drives in their cars. That's a wonderful dream. It's a wonderful dream. And if they took realistic steps to make it happen, that would be great. I can't imagine it happening in that short amount of time, given our car culture here. But city officials can imagine a different, more connected Los Angeles. And new train stations and bike lanes will make the city easier to navigate,

for tourists at least. Some here are sceptical about the locals, or if LA will be able to end its love affair with cars. skeptical about the locals or if LA will be able to end its love affair with cars. Reagan Morris reporting from Los Angeles. An investigation has been launched in Kenya after an object the size of a grand piano fell from the sky. The Kenya Space Agency said the piece of debris which landed in a village was a separation ring from a rocket launch vehicle and reassured locals it posed no threat. It said it was meant to either burn up during re-entry or fall into uninhabited areas such as oceans. So how often does something like this happen? Dr Megan Argo is a senior lecturer in

astrophysics. It's been unusual historically but they are becoming more common these occurrences, just because of the sheer number of satellite launches that now happen on a daily basis. We had a record number of rocket launches happening in 2024, and it's likely we're going to have another record broken this year in 2025 in terms of the number of rockets launched. And the more launches, the more debris gets left behind in orbit to come down in an uncontrolled way. Most of the Earth's surface being water, the chances are good that most of this debris will come down in the water and not cause any damage. But it is the case that some of it, because it's

uncontrolled, because it's unpredictable, does come down over land. And if it does, it can hit inhabited settlements, as this one appears to have done today. It happens very, very fast. Once it starts to come down, it doesn't take long for it to then reach the ground. So predicting this stuff, exactly where it is going to very, very fast. Once it starts to come down, it doesn't take long for it to then reach the ground. So predicting this stuff exactly where it is going to land is difficult. The thing that needs to happen is that companies that do these launches and governments that do these launches need to do a better job of bringing their own debris down in a safe and controlled manner. There's a good chance that debris is not going to hit a settlement, but when it does does it could potentially be quite catastrophic.

We have had a few incidents of things coming through the atmosphere in recent years. There was a piece of spacex debris that hit an Australian sheep farm in 2022 and there have been a couple of Chinese rockets that have disintegrated in the atmosphere, one of which showered pieces across another part of Africa. So this stuff does happen. Megan Argo from the University of Central Lancashire. After more than 600 years, Denmark has dropped the final reference to its territorial demands on Sweden, removing its northern neighbours' symbols from its royal coat of arms. Ruster Puker explains the historical context.

Centuries ago heraldry and coats of arms were a very serious matter. They denoted dominion and lordship, so it was no surprise that Denmark, using the Swedish 3 crowns symbol, caused increasing irritation, anger, and even fury in Stockholm. The tensions kept on growing, and by the 16th century the dispute was so serious it became one of the causes of a war that lasted seven years. That conflict didn't solve the heraldic row, but as time went on, it became less and less significant, especially as the former arch enemies, Sweden and Denmark, became close friends, ruled by cousins. Rister Pukka

It is a vital maritime aid that's loved by non-seafaring folk too because of its poetic sound. BBC Radio is celebrating 100 years of the shipping forecast. Viking, North Utsira, South Utsira, 40s, Cromartie. Cyclonic, becoming northerly, 6 to Gale, 8. Rain, then snow showers. Good, occasionally poor. Fourth, Tyne, Dogger. It's read out twice a day, three times at weekends and provides predictions by the Met Office on wind speed, sea state and visibility. And despite the development of more sophisticated forecasting technology, the rhythmic delivery like you heard there has inspired musicians and poets alike. The BBC's Paddy O'Connell told us more about it. When you hear the forecast you are hearing a journey clockwise around the British Isles,

starting in Viking and ending up in Iceland. So there are 31 areas and it follows a code which is there is a full sentence that we all use in speech and a lot of those words are taken out just to get to the main points which are the visibility, the wind speed, the wind direction is very important and the warnings of gales in the 31 shipping areas. And how did it come about? Britain has, through its history, been shaped by ships. And if you think about some of the great events, the Romans arrived here on ships, the Armada was blown off course by the weather, D-Day was delayed, the biggest Armada ever assembled in history was delayed for 24 hours by a weather forecast. But actually what happened was, in the Victorian era, shipwrecks were making people absolutely horrified and there was one year, 1859, when one accident in particular horrified the nation. A vessel coming

all the way from Australia to Liverpool, founded off the coast of Wales, 450 souls were lost but crucially all women and children, the public was disgusted and one man thought he could invent a forecast and so he put together a physical forecast by telegraph to warn sailors, Vice Admiral Fitzroy. So very important in keeping shipping safe over the years, is it still needed? Well so his physical forecast was shapes on the shore. It then went on to radio in the 1920s and was crucial. It saved thousands of lives over the years. Then, as you're rightly saying, recent technology has led people to say it's redundant.

We've got GPS. And there was really a big backlash, I think, about it. You're right to say it's been cultural and poetic joy for many people, but who used it? Well recently what's happened of course is that the Russians have started jamming GPS signals in the Baltic Sea and mysterious agents have been dragging their anchors over the subsea cables, which is how our internet is delivered to Ireland and archipelago nations listening to you around the world. So actually, like the plot of The Matrix, it's all very well trusting the tech, but actually you need a human and the weather forecast, the shipping forecast itself,

is still drawn up by a human. So I say I understand the argument that I can rely on my device, but I'd rather have a human in the engine room. Talking about the human voice, some people who have nothing to do with the sea just like to listen to it. Yes, no that's totally true. I mean there's millions of fans of it around the world. In fact recently a small experiment's been carried out here in delivering it, asking people where do you listen. And people who are homesick tune into it when they're on holiday or travelling abroad. And then there are plenty of people who've left the UK to live all around the world and they like to hear it. And people who don't live here but just want to know

who are these weird British people? What makes them tick? It appears to be the bongs, the pips and the ships. Who are they, these British? So I mean, it's a line of a hundred years of who we are. And we've changed a lot. But there's something that has not changed about the shipping forecast. And I think that's why a lot of us do like it even if we don't all understand it. And I was talking to Paddy O'Connell. And that is all from us for now but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was produced by Harry Bly and mixed by James Piper, our editors Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye.